Thee Dang Dangs tell us how they came up with their unusual name and what it means exactly

Thee Dang Dangs got going this past summer when Broox Pulford of Wombmates, Shawn Butzin and Ray Koren of Dead Rollers and Rebecca Williams of Call Me Dolly decided to start a new band, united by a mutual love of rock that's still rough around the edges. The outfit has already garnered a good deal of attention for its visceral live shows, and that spirit is captured well on the recently released Stone Coast EP, recorded by Alex Anderson of ManCub and Flashlights. We recently spoke with the affable bunch about the emotional roots of the music and the origin of their name.

Westword: What would you say is at the core of what you've tried to do with this band?

Rebecca Williams: I'm definitely a fan of really raw music. I feel that's the way music should be. I don't think there should be 15,000 hours put into one song. If it's not happening, it's not happening. If you see me sing, I want you to feel how angry I was at that point. It should be super-natural and super-raw. I don't believe in having stupid gimmicks. I think really raw is where your heart really shows.

I don't want to see somebody who is trying to be a rock star and play their guitar like they're Jimi Hendrix. I want to see you at your core. I want to see your soul. I don't like bands that have all these ridiculous lyrics. I'd rather have three punch-you-in-the-face words. I have a lot of songs where there are just three lines and the rest is vocals without words. I was raised in a church, and that's what you did. That is exactly the expression of what's happening inside the body that can't be replaced by words.

The name of the band is presumably a nod to Billy Childish.

RW: The "Thee" is. The "Dang Dangs" part is Broox's brainchild.

Broox Pulford: When I was in Wombmates, me and the other guys would hang out a lot. We would all ride bikes. We kind of had our own language, where we would be like, "I'll be goddamn, dang dang!" Saying, "Let me get a cigarette" would be like, "Let me bum a dang ol'." It would just be understood by the kids we hung out with. I was talking with them one day and said, "I really want to start a band called the Dang Dangs." It doesn't really mean anything but I think it would just be kind of fun." Rebecca said, "What if we said, we're 'Thee Dang Dangs'?"

Shawn Butzin: People mispronounce our name all the time. Spindrift joked about that when we played with them, and said, "We'd like to thank the Three Dang Dogs or the Dang Fangs."

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